This invention relates to the field of safety devices, and more particularly, to safety devices for preventing the operation of water faucet handles by unsophisticated individuals, including young children.
On occasions, unsophisticated children have unsupervised access to water faucets. Too often these children attempt to play with the water faucets and are injured by scalding hot water or from jerking away from cold water. These injuries can be minimized by the use of a faucet safety device that covers the faucet handle and prevents operation of the faucet by those too immature to understand the consequences. At the same time, the device should be easy to install and remove to facilitate and encourage use by supervising adults.
The present invention provides a simple, inexpensive handle cover that prevents operation of the faucet handle when installed. With respect to one aspect of the present invention, the safety device includes a restraining bar removably attachable to a fixed structure and an expandable faucet handle cover, fixed relative to the restraining bar. The cover presents a handle-receiving cavity that varies in size as the cover is expanded and contracted. It also includes a pair of elongated, opposed, separable toothed surfaces that move lengthwise relative to one another as the cover is expanded and contracted, with the teeth of the surfaces being interlockable to prevent expansion of the cover. The cover encloses the faucet handle to restrict operation of the handle independent of the cover, which is fixed by the restraining bar. Thus, an adult can easily install and remove the mechanism, but it prevents an endangered child from operating the faucet handle. The inventive features of the device are useful for both dual handle faucets and single handle faucets.
The present invention also concerns a faucet safety device for selectively restricting operation of a pair of faucet handles, where operation of either faucet handle involves movement of the handle relative to the other faucet handle. The device includes a restraining bar and a pair of independently expandable faucet handle covers that are fixed relative to the restraining bar. Each cover also presents a handle-receiving cavity that varies in size as the cover is expanded and contracted. The dual faucet safety device provides an independent locking mechanism for each of the faucet handle covers, with each mechanism being operable to selectively prevent expansion of each of said covers. The independent locking mechanisms facilitate use on various size faucet handles, particularly on handles that are larger than average. The restraining bar between the two covers prevents movement of the covers and therefore operation of either handle.
The present invention also concerns a faucet safety device where the faucet handle cover is operable be fixed to the faucet handle and the projecting, rigid restraining bar is dimensioned and configured to extend at least partly around a fixed structure. The cover and the bar thereby cooperate to prevent operational movement of the handle. The device is easily installed in a multitude of environments to prevent movement or rotation of the cover and therefore operation of the handle.
The present invention further concerns a simplified method of preventing rotation of the hot water and the cold water handles of a faucet. The first faucet handle cover is fixed to the hot water handle in such a manner that rotation of the hot water handle would require rotation of the first cover. The second faucet handle cover is independently fixed to the cold water handle in such a manner that rotation of the cold water handle would require rotation of the second cover. Wherein the first and second handle covers are fixed relative to one another, neither cover or the associated handle can be rotated and operation of the faucet is prevented. This method allows for improved installation on handles of various sizes.
A method particularly adapted to use with the single faucet safety device directs the positioning of an elongated, substantially rigid restraining bar around structure that is fixed relative to the handle during handle operation. Typically this might be the faucet spigot or another handle. The user then fixes the projecting handle cover to the handle in such a maimer that rotation of the handle would require rotation of the cover. The restraining bar prevents rotation of the cover, thus preventing operation of the handle.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.